Administration Bldg, Nebr. Penitentiary

Black and white postcard (14 x 9 cm) with a view captioned "Administration Bldg. Nebr State Penitentiary" in white writing by the photographer across the foreground at the bottom of the image. The foreground of the postcard looks like a plowed field. Large trees are shown on either side of the administration building. The building is three stories high with an arched entry and arched windows on the second story and conical towers on each end with dentil ornamentation at the top of the towers giving it a "castle" look.

The Nebraska State Penitentiary was built on land owned by Captain W. T. Donovan and G. H. Hilton donated in 1867 as an inducement to locate the State Capitol in Lancaster County. Located three miles south of Lincoln, Nebraska, construction was begun in 1870 and by July a small temporary structure was completed. Prison labor was used to quarry and cut magnesia limestone from the Saltillo quarries 12 miles south of Lincoln to build the structure seen here. It was completed in 1876 and remained in constant use until it was razed in 1982, at which time portions of the original wall and guard tower were among the oldest structures in Lancaster County. Source: McKee, James L. Remember When.....Memories of Lincoln. Lincoln: J & L Lee Co., 1998, p. 43-44.